Barbara Lattanzi is currently Visiting Artist in Digital Media at Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts. Recent exhibitions of her work include the screening of several early films as part of the 1999-2000 Museum of Modern Art series \\\"Big As Life: An American History of 8mm Films\\\" and and the exhibition of her ongoing collection of interactive multimedia applets, \\\"wildernessPuppets\\\" at the 9th New York Digital Salon (2002). She has presented \\\"Muscle and Blood Piano\\\", experimental software for screen projection/performance, at the Wisconsin Film Festival, the 2001 \\\"Ready to...\\\" conference in Prague, Czech Republic; and the 2002 Media Art Festival, Osnabr

<html><body>Hi Jim.<br><br>thanks for the questions about the project &quot;C-SPAN x 4&quot;, andthe opportunity to comment on the political content (toward the end ofthis email).<br><br>First, just a quick note that the software, including the web versions,are only for Windows PC.&nbsp; (I just clarified this on the web versionstoday, Jan.6.&nbsp; Some Mac users visiting it yesterday may have triedit and been confused.)<br><br>Anyone, using either Mac or Windows, should be able to view theQuicktime-format video demos:<br><br><a href="http://artport.whitney.org/" eudora="autourl">http://artport.whitney.org<br><br></a>At 01:42 AM 1/6/2005, you wrote:<br><br><blockquote type=cite class=cite cite><font face="arial" size=2 color="#0000FF">Couldyou tell me a little about the differences between the web versions andthe downloadable versions of this work?</font></blockquote><br>The web browser versions and the downloadable software versions areexactly the same.&nbsp; <br><br>The minor exception is that, in rare cases, some Mac users with an_older_ version of the Real Video media player may be able to experiencethe web browser versions of CSPAN x 4.&nbsp; This has to do with a boringtechnicality.&nbsp; <br><br>The Mac technical limitation is likely never to be fixed by Macromedia.That limitation prohibits use of Director and Shockwave in conjunctionwith the newer versions of the Real Video media player,&nbsp;&nbsp; Likethey say, &quot;It was nice while it lasted.&quot;<br><br><blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>&nbsp;<font face="arial" size=2 color="#0000FF">Haveyou selected particular video clips, or do the apps search certainlocations for video clips and work with whatever theyfind?</font></blockquote><br>There is no filter for &quot;The Interrupting Annotator&quot;, one of 4software applications that make up &quot;CSPAN x 4&quot;.&nbsp; A perlscript simply goes to the front page of the CSPAN.org website and addsany new video titles to an ongoing, cumulative list of CSPAN titlesstored on my website, which then appears as a selectable list for theperson using the software.<br><br>C-SPAN x 4 has an additional 3 software applications.&nbsp; Unlike&quot;The Interrupting Annotator&quot;, these other 3 softwares aresatirical works.&nbsp; I realized, at the time the Tsunami tragedyoccurred, that some sort of filter was needed.&nbsp; I do not want allCSPAN videos to be available to &quot;CSPAN Karaoke&quot;, &quot;CSPANAlphaville&quot;, and &quot;In Lieu of Standing on Yer Head&quot;.&nbsp;<br><br>Instead, these 3 softwares receive a filtered list of video titles fromthe CSPAN website, i.e., the filtered list includes all the staid andproper CSPAN video documents of public policy-making that have become awindow onto the corporate and fundamentalist slow-motion hijacking of theUS government.<br><br><blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>&nbsp;<font face="arial" size=2 color="#0000FF">Ifthe latter, how did you arrive at the texts?</font></blockquote><br>As just described, 3 of the 4 softwares receive a slightly filtered listof CSPAN videos more appropriate to the satirical content of the overlaidtexts.<br><br>The selection of the texts - Alphaville subtitles (&quot;CSPANAlphaville&quot;), 1970s pop songs (&quot;CSPAN Karaoke&quot;) - werebased on the possibility of being understood as ironic framing of theCSPAN videos.&nbsp; Since the video titles are constantly being added to,the texts had to be broad enough to &quot;apply&quot; to any of thepublic policy-making videos. <br><br><blockquote type=cite class=cite cite><font face="arial" size=2 color="#0000FF">&nbsp;It'sinteresting to think of that, erm, cross-product, ie, consider a video *text work where the videos are selected randomly from an unknown pool ofvideos (though they are all, in this case, concerned with politics) andthe texts are drawn somewhat randomly from a pool of pre-composed textsby the author. Annotated video, yes, but also possibly a literarywork.</font></blockquote><br>The CSPAN website is one of the few news-based websites where it is easyto access streaming video in this way.&nbsp; I have been looking into amilitary news website that uses Flash videos that seem impossible toeffectively embed in another frame. And I have never tried those strange&quot;passports&quot; to access CNN streams, etc.&nbsp; There is moreresearch to do in this area of reframing news streams (or video streamswith other content).<br><br>In regard to the potential for text works.&nbsp; I do think that oneof&nbsp; the CSPAN x 4 components, &quot;The InterruptingAnnotator&quot;, could be a useful tool for writing experiments, or forteaching writing as, I think, Alan Sondheim suggested to me.&nbsp; Infact the original prototype for this software used several&quot;seed&quot; texts, one of which was a text written by Alan that hehad posted to the Syndicate discussion list.&nbsp; <br><br><blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>&nbsp;<br><font face="arial" size=2 color="#0000FF">This work of yours is quitestrong in the possibilities it suggests and its meditation on video andpolitical process.</font></blockquote><br>Its meditation includes a question like &quot;what would it look like tohave a kind of video channel that turns everything upsidedown?&quot;.&nbsp; Then realizing it is a not-so-bad distancing strategyfor political spin - maybe giving you a bit of mental space for makinghistorical or other associations as you grapple with currentevents.&nbsp; Or, &quot;what would it be like to watch publicpolicymaking in a convivial anarchic way with friends&quot;.&nbsp; Andrealize that karaoke is a genre retroactively made (at least in myimaginary universe) to ironically enliven the viewing and considerationof public policymaking.&nbsp; I am waiting for CSPAN Karaoke bars toappear - akin to neighborhood sports bars, or to bars where labor unionorganizing used to be done. <br><br>Barbara<br><br><br>------------------------------------------------<br>Barbara Lattanzi<br><a href="http://www.wildernesspuppets.net/" eudora="autourl">www.wildernesspuppets.net<br><br><br><br><br></a><blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>&nbsp;<br><font face="arial" size=2 color="#0000FF">ja<br></font><font face="arial" size=1>&nbsp;<br></font><dl><br>

I just noticed this message about the cspan karaoke project from about 2 weeks ago. I do not know how I overlooked it. Apologies.

thanks for taking a look. The project uses Perl along with Lingo for the Director-based application. The Lingo "talks" to Perl scripts that are on my website (The Lingo scripts trigger Perl scripts to retrieve info from cspan, for example). The capability of Director to incorporate streaming video is not supported very well...but it is there.

The project uses the ephemerality of streaming video as a positive reason to annotate it, i.e., to render the streams "parsimonious". Thus the annotations become a means of archiving the disappearing content of videos that do not remain publically available for very long.

C-SPAN Karaoke is a performative off-shoot of a project of video annotation.

C-SPAN KARAOKE software displays media that streams from public archives of the CSPAN.org website, along with karaoke tunes gleaned from various free offerings on the web. So, gather together with friends and loosen up those vocal cords...

While you are navigating the flows of institutional political process, faithfully and invaluably documented by CSPAN, you can always break out in song...and the louder the better. Use CSPAN KARAOKE and your voice in collective chorus with friends, to navigate CSPAN video streams - whether these be representations of illegitimate authority or suspect versions of reality.

Sing with conviction, because resonant frequencies have been known to shatter glass.

A NOTE ABOUT C-SPAN ARCHIVES

Although streaming video archives are available at the CSPAN website as a not-for-profit, public service of the lucrative American cable television industry, they are only publicly accessible for a brief period of time. Some more significant videos may remain available longer, but most CSPAN videos can be accessed for only a few months before they disappear.

The disappearing CSPAN video archive means that over time, the accumulated list of video titles for CSPAN KARAOKE software may contain an occasional "dead" link, a gap in collective memory of institutional political process. Note that the more recent videos will always appear conveniently near the top of the selection list for your KARAOKE pleasure.

C-SPAN KARAOKE software displays media that streams from public archives of the CSPAN.org website, along with karaoke tunes gleaned from various free offerings on the web. So, gather together with friends and loosen up those vocal cords...

While you are navigating the flows of institutional political process, faithfully and invaluably documented by CSPAN, you can always break out in song...and the louder the better. Use CSPAN KARAOKE and your voice in collective chorus with friends, to navigate CSPAN video streams - whether these be representations of illegitimate authority or suspect versions of reality.

Sing with conviction, because resonant frequencies have been known to shatter glass.

A NOTE ABOUT C-SPAN ARCHIVES

Although streaming video archives are available at the CSPAN website as a not-for-profit, public service of the lucrative American cable television industry, they are only publically accessible for a brief period of time. Some more significant videos may remain available longer, but most CSPAN videos can be accessed for only a few months before they disappear.

The disappearing CSPAN video archive means that over time, the accumulated list of video titles for "CSPAN KARAOKE" may contain an occasional "dead" link, a gap in collective memory of institutional political process. Note that the more recent videos will always appear conveniently near the top of the selection list for your KARAOKE pleasure.